A Rose Is A Rose But A Cherry Blossom Is Much More
by Torishu
Summary: Sakura is being abused by her husband, she goes to seek training from an old sensei.As she grows closer to him, he learns someone is plotting against her. Can he protect her? KakaSaku, SasuSaku, ItaSaku but mostly Kakasaku...
1. Chapter 1

1-6-10

Revising stories.

SEE PROFILE FOR DETAILS ON WHICH CHAPTERS HAVE ALREADY BEEN UPDATED.

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, nor am I affiliated with Masashi Kishimoto.

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The kunoichi glared at her husband, and kept her arms folded across her chest so as to keep them under control. She often lost her composure with her husband, and they would end up in physical fights. This time, however, was not a time to display any sense of immaturity. She was dead serious.

She glanced in the mirror to her left, and saw that her eyes reflected both pain and extreme anger. Averting her eyes, she took a step forward so that her view of the mirror would be obstructed by the door. She cleared her throat loudly, and waited for his eyes to meet her own.

Nothing.

Leaning against the door frame to their bedroom, she watched as he finished gathering his supplies for his four month long mission to the border.

She scowled as he roughly shoved his way past her into the kitchen, still not meeting her eyes.

"Sasuke..." She began, doing her best not to convey her feelings through her voice. She waited for him to show some sign of acknowledgement; a nod, a glance, a word, something.

Nothing.

Feeling her anger beginning rise rapidly, she took a deep breath and attempted to steady herself before she continued. She was going to say it, even if it killed her, because she was already dying. Her life was unbearable.

"Sasuke... I want a divorce." She said in the firmest tone she could muster. She mimicked the flat, strong, decisive tone that Tsunade had always used on anyone lower in authority than she.

"No." He stated in his usual cold tone, also wordlessly telling her not to argue. He didn't even respect her enough to meet her eyes as he refused her statement.

"No?" she asked incredulously. He was speaking to her as if she was a small child, of which he expected to obey him without question. Her voice rose quite a few decibels.

"Sakura. The Uchiha Clan has never had a divorce within it's ranks before and ours is not going to be the first." He stated matter of factly.

_"What clan?" _she sputtered.

"Be quiet."

"There is no clan, nor will there ever be!" She yelled, turning on her heel and stomping towards the kitchen as she yelled. "The only possible chance your _clan_ has is if your brother finds himself a girl, and I sincerely doubt that is ever going to happen." She had pretty much kicked him in the balls with that statement. Sasuke was sterile, and she had kept her mouth shut about it over the past few years, but she was PISSED. "So just give me a divorce. What's the point in keeping me as a hostage wife?"

She was cut off by the sting of his hand against her cheek.

"Not another word you ungrateful little wretch." He growled as she slowly lifted her gaze to his, pain and hate radiating from her expression.

Picking up his backpack, he turned on his heel, and slammed the door as he stepped out into the cool Konoha morning.

Sakura let go of the breath that she'd been holding.

She was thankful that she had controlled herself. Despite the fact that they had fought many times, she was still never eager to engage in a fight with Uchiha Sasuke. She knew Tsunade's secrets, but all she had ever managed to do was land a punch on his abdomen before he overpowered her. After all, she was only a medic-nin, one of the strongest, but still no match for an ANBU.

She stepped into the painfully white bathroom and surveyed the deep scarlet handprint that had been left on the flawless skin of her cheek in the mirror. With a sigh, she gathered chakra in her palm until a dull blue light illuminated her whole hand. Pressing the chakra into the skin of her cheek, she watched as the mark disappeared beneath her touch.

Thankfully she was on vacation leave from the hospital. She was not in any mood to go to work today. She had originally taken it to catch up on some physical training.

She sidled back into her bedroom, and her eyes landed on a picture framed with wire, and hanging on the wall. Pictured were the images of her two teammates when they were twelve, along with her, and their sensei.

…Kakashi.

An idea stuck her. Kakashi would help her with her training, wouldn't he? If he refused, she could always just guilt him into it by telling him about Sasuke. Was that too far?

She was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of rapid knocking on her door. Retying her robe, she made her way to the door. She already knew who it was because the knocking kept going, and going, incessantly.

Naruto.

As she pulled open the heavy wooden front door she saw the blonde headed kitsune looking worried.

"Sakura-chan! Are you okay?! I saw Sasuke on his way out of town and he looked pretty pissed off." He asked, stepping inside.

"I'm fine Naruto." She stated. She appreciated the thought, but it just wasn't that big of a deal to her anymore. She just wanted out of the situation because it was exhausting.

"He hit you again, didn't he?

"I'm fine Naruto."

"I've told you before, if you hadn't already asked me not to, I would have already beat the crap out of him ages ago. All's you need to do is say the word and BAM!" He punched the air, and scowled.

"No... please don't." She wanted to do it herself, and Kakashi would be the key to solving her problem.

"Sakura..." Naruto began, laying an arm across her shoulders. "One of these days he's going to end up killing you." He let her go as she shrugged off his arm, and stepped into the kitchen.

He shook his head, and took a seat on the black leather sofa as she brought out a glass of milk for him. Had it been anyone else, she would have given them coffee but Naruto despised it. He was still such a child at heart.

That was why she loved him.

"He's just upset about his clan Naruto. I mean, if you found out you couldn't complete your goal of becoming Hokage, and there was absolutely nothing you could do about it, how would you feel?" she reasoned, taking a seat in the chair across from his and sipping her coffee.

"Terrible... but still, that gives him no right to take it-"

"He'll get over it. He's going to the border so maybe it will give him time to let it go." She interrupted.

"It's been over a year." He shook his head, "And even if he did get over it, then what? I don't know that much about love, but from what I've experienced, I think it would be almost impossible for you to love him after he put you through so much pain." He reasoned, apparently in one of his extremely rare "smart moods"

"Just don't worry about it. I'll take care of it." She was torn. On one hand, she wanted it to be like it was in the beginning. On the other, she had been hurt, badly. She knew what she had to do, but her heart still held a drop of hope for Sasuke.

"Sakura. Do you really love him? I mean I know you do as a friend and as a teammate, but do you really love him as a spouse? Like, I know he made you feel loved in the beginning, but you know this is who he really is…" Now, he was beginning to scare her. He was making so much sense of all of the things she had been confused over for so long, but this was Naruto. When did he got so smart?!

"... Naruto...? Thank you."

"Now… get dressed. I'm under very strict orders from Hinata to make sure you get dressed and come eat at Ichiraku's with us. In fact, she's probably waiting right now, so hurry up." Naruto smiled, breaking the seriousness in the room.

"Naruto..." she began uncertainly.

"Do it."

With a sigh, she stepped into her bedroom and opened the drawer of her dresser with the small selection of clothing without an Uchiha fan on it. The clothing was a bit tight, she hadn't worn them in at least a year and a half, but it would do. She threw on a simple black tank top and pair of low-rise jeans.

She quickly ran a hairbrush through her pink tresses as she walked into the bathroom. She pulled her hair back into a messy ponytail, and watched in the mirror as some loose strands fell and framed her face. She had chopped her bangs shorter, and layered her hair more. It had been a very long time since she'd gone anywhere with her friends, and she was pleased at how cute she still looked in her old clothes.

Slipping on her long black coat, she walked out into the living room to see Naruto putting his cup on the kitchen counter

"Finally." He sighed, standing up. "Let's go. Women take so long in the bathroom."

"Naruto…. It hasn't even been five minutes."

"I wouldn't have even taken two."


	2. Chapter 2

Has been revised.

1-6-10

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The aroma of ramen wafted to her nostils, and Sakura was completely distracted for the 5 minutes she had the bowl in front of her. Following Naruto's example, she began rapidly shoveling the contents of her bowl into her mouth. A sense of nostalgia was heavy on her mind.

Meanwhile, the shy Hyuuga heiress began eating her food daintily as she watched her lover and her best friend on either side of her with an amazed smile. She was used to Naruto eating like this, but Sakura would usually save it for when they weren't in public. It was quite comical, though.

Truthfully, Hinata was extremely worried about her rosy haired friend. She had changed so much after she had gotten married, and that frightened Hinata. Sakura was never bright eyed or cheery anymore unless it was a feigned act for guests, and Hinata could see right through it. It was depressing, because Sakura didn't deserve to be unhappy.

Before, and right after they had gotten married, Sakura and Sasuke had seemed so happy together. Sasuke had actually begun opening up to people, and Sakura had always had a smile plastered across her face. About a week and a half after they had gotten married however, Sasuke had become cold and even more stoic than he had ever been. Sakura had become a depressed rag doll. Hinata and Ino had noticed the change in her personality right away. It perplexed both of them, but no matter how they looked at it, they couldn't figure out why she was acting this way, until she'd finally told them one night when she had gotten ridiculously drunk.

Sakura hadn't told anyone but Hinata and Ino, and the only reason Naruto had even found out was because he'd walked in their house when Sasuke had slapped her a few weeks ago.

Hinata sighed sadly. Naruto had been hinting at marriage lately, but if this was what marriage did to people, she wanted no part of it. What if she couldn't give him everything he wanted, and he ended up treating her like Sasuke did to Sakura? She wouldn't be able to bear to see him that unhappy.

She looked to Sakura again. She had finished her bowl of ramen, and was staring off into the distance. Her mind was obviously somewhere else. It hurt Hinata to see her so sad.

"Yo." A familiar voice said as it's owner took a seat next to Sakura.

"Kakashi-sensei! You're back!" Naruto gasped.

Sakura popped out of her dazed state, and grinned at her sensei. She couldn't believe her luck. Time to get practicing!

"Yeah… Since last night, and I told you, don't call me sensei anymore." He said, Scratching the back of his head.

"Force of habit." Sakura shrugged. "Can't help it."

"Sakura, may I speak to you for a moment, alone?" The copy-nin asked, his tone of voice telling Sakura that somehow he already knew of her and Sasuke's situation.

"Sure" Sakura said. She stood and slipped her jacket back on over her practically bare shoulders. The soft autumn breeze sent a pleasant shiver down her spine. "I'll be right back."

Silently, she followed her former sensei down the main street, and off on a side road. He was silent until they were on the dirt path that lead to the memorial, and then he spoke. For the majority of the time she just listened wordlessly.

"...So I'd better get to the point... I heard... well that is, I was told..., that Sasuke has been causing you problems..." He said, uncharacteristically stumbling over his words. She couldn't blame him, though. It was an awkward situation for him.

"... Naruto?"

"Yeah, but don't be too hard on him though, Sakura. He's just worried about you, you're like the sister he never had." The copy ninn placed a hand on her shoulder, and smiled beneath his mask.

Sakura sighed over-dramatically. Truthfully, she didn't mind that that Naruto had told their former sensei, it actually made her job a lot easier. The only thing that bothered her was the possibility of who else he'd told. He had such a big mouth.

"Actually... I was going to tell you anyway. You see, I was hoping that you would give me some extra training. I'm kind of out of practice..." She paused. "Not that I'll be fighting Sasuke or anything, it's just…."

"Do you really think you'll need to fight him?" He asked, his voice grim and serious. "Do you really think it would come to that?" he furrowed his silvery brows. Kakashi knew that what she'd endured so far were all things she could handle physically, but it was the mental damage she was taking that worried him. If Sakura believed that Sasuke would take the abuse to another level, then by all means he would help her.

"I hope it doesn't... but the way he's been acting..." A tear escaped her eye.

"Tomorrow then?" He nodded. He had nothing better to do in his days anyway.

"Really?" Sakura asked, brushing her bubble gum pink hair behind her ear. "Thank you!"

He awkwardly cleared his throat, "Hey Sakura?" He asked, turning their stride towards back towards the ramen stand. "I'm not trying to intrude, but... why is he acting like this? Did something happen?"

"Ummm..." Sakura furrowed her brow nervously. She had to choose her words carefully, so she could avoid having a very awkward conversation with her teacher. "...Due to his genetics… well... let's just say that there won't be any Uchiha's running around... EVER." She blushed faintly, her eyes scanning his face, waiting for a sign of understanding that she would never see. He was always stoic. He never showed signs of emotion unless he wanted to. That was what made Kakashi, Kakashi.

"I see."

"So you can understand why he's upset. He can't fulfill that dream, and the chances of him beating Itachi are pretty slim." She sighed. The youngest Uchiha had found a way to find Itachi whenever he wanted to, but he was always defeated in the end. It was a sick twisted game the Akatsuki member played, entertaining himself.

"Despite his... incapabilities, it still gives him absolutely no right to take his disappointments out on you. You don't deserve that kind of treatment. You may not be as skilled in the categories that he is, but you have other talents that he couldn't even fathom. He could never accomplish half the things you have in medicines."

Sakura blushed. That meant a lot to her. It was very rare for her sensei to complement her, and it had caught her off guard. It wasn't as if he insulted her or anything, he just rarely praised her unless it was something he really meant.

Sakura stared up at him, feeling something spread across her face.

Something she hadn't experienced earnestly in a very long time.

A smile.

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Another revision, as I said before, I don't like the length of the chapters, still.


	3. Chapter 3

Revised on 1-6-10

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"Sakura! There you are! Where's Kakashi-sensei?" The blue eyed shinobi asked in his usual loud tone, probably blowing out Hinata's eardrums as tried to catch her attention from down the road. His default tone of voice was still the same: screaming at the top of his lungs.

"He had go home." She yelled back, for she was still some feet from him. "I really need to get going too." She said remorsefully as she approached them. She saw Naruto all of the time due to his persistent checking up on her, but she rarely saw Hinata anymore. She missed how close they had been before she'd gotten married. She patted Hinata on the shoulder, and grabbed her purse. "I really need to get groceries."

"Awwww..." Naruto pouted, and for a moment he looked exactly like he had when they were twelve.

"Sorry, but I really need to get going." She apologized as she dug in her purse for her wallet so she could hurry and pay before Naruto distracted her with another conversation.

"Don't worry about it Sakura, I've got it." Naruto said, laying a hand over hers. He had had a lot of money recently due to the amount of missions he was assigned. He was top choice for local missions, because he would always complete them in an extremely short amount of time. He was so goddamn hyper all of the time.

"No, it's okay, I have it in my wallet, my purse is just overcrowded..." She explained, resuming her search through her abyss of a bag. She hated purses with a fiery passion.

"Sakura, it's on me."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. Now get going." Naruto said, ushering her away.

"Thanks Naruto, I appreciate it. I'll see you later Hinata." She said, waving as she hurried off.

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It was dark outside, and she was cold. Setting the three large brown paper bags she'd been carrying on her front porch, she cursed to herself as she had to yet again dig through her purse, but this time to find her key.

"Mmmeowww."

Sakura glanced down to see a small gray kitten, looking up at her with sharp piercing green eyes, similar to her own. It was staring shyly at her from between two bushes next to her porch stairs. The kitten's skin hung loosely on it's small frame, making it apparent that it had been some time since the poor thing had eaten.

"C'mere kitty…" Sakura whispered. It approached her cheerfully, and sat right at her feet, meowing softly, and purring.

Patting it softly on the head, she stood and reached under the mat and removed the spare key. She'd bring some food out to it as soon as she unpacked her groceries.

As soon as the door opened, she saw a gray blur dart past her and through the open door.

With a sigh, she lifted the heavy bags and carried them into the house, kicking the door shut behind herself.

"Here kitty, kitty, kitty..." She called.

Much to her frustration, it completely ignored her. She stumbled into her spotless kitchen, and saw the intruder sitting on the counter, drinking out of the cup of milk Naruto had failed to finish earlier that day. With another sigh, she placed the bags on the counter beside it. The kitten was dipping it's paw into the spoiled glass of milk and then licking it up hungrily.

She reached into the cabinet and pulled out a small, porcelain bowl. She poured some fresh milk into it, and placed it on the floor. As soon as the bowl touched the floor, the kitten dashed off the counter, and landed in front of it. Sakura grabbed a can of tuna that she was never going to eat anyway, and opened it.

Now that she had taken care of that, she turned her attention back to the task at hand. Examining the bags of groceries, she began shoving various items into her empty refrigerator. If Naruto hadn't already gotten her out of the house, she wouldn't have gone shopping, and she would be living off of their excess supply of tomatoes and riceballs.

Yuck.

-------------

There was a blur of pastel pink as the tired woman collapsed onto her couch. She was relieved to finally be able to relax without having to worry about Sasuke coming home grouchy, drunk, or both.

Then, there was a weight on her stomach. She opened an eye to see half of the feline's torso sitting comfortably on her stomach, it's front paws tucked beneath itself. It was purring loudly, and happily. She didn't really mind, actually.

She couldn't understand how Kakashi could just use one eye at most times. She couldn't stand not seeing all she could of her surroundings. She laid her head back down, and then she smelled it. The strong scent of wet dog, dirt, and… something else. She couldn't quite place it.

"Ugh. Cat, you stink," she coughed, "If you're going to live here, you're going to have to take a bath." She muttered. Sasuke would have a fit when he came home, but she would stand her ground. Besides, she had a good four months until she had to deal with him. She needed something top love her, at least. Maybe she would train it.

Then she'd have both a cat, and a slug...

Maybe not...

As soon as the word "bath" passed her lips, the kitten jumped to the floor in a rush and was gone from her sight.

Smart cat…

She resolved to wait, and just get it done and over with tomorrow, after her training session with Kakashi. That way, she could just stop at the store and pick up a few things on the way home...

Suddenly remembering something, Sakura stood and walked into her bedroom, and over to her wide mahogany desk. Taking a seat in her rolling chair, She opened the drawer and removed a sheet of her favorite stationary. Hurriedly, she scribbled out a short letter for her best friend. Hopefully, she'd still catch the mail-nin. Ino deserved a letter, for she had been at the border for the past four months, she was going to be home soon. Afterall, it was only supposed to last for four...

Four months until Sasuke returned...

_-Dear Ino-..._


	4. Chapter 4

REVISED 1-7-10

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With a quick smile, the blonde kunoichi thanked the messenger-nin for the bright green envelope he had just handed her. "Straight from Konoha." He'd said. She grinned as she saw the familiar handwriting that spelled out her name.

Suddenly, she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her small waist, and a whiskered cheek rub against her smooth one, causing her to jump in surprise.

"Who's it from?" A low, masculine voice asked, his breath heavy in her ear. Ino loved his voice. It was calm, and smooth, and fitted his personality.

And, obviously, it was sexy.

When anyone heard his voice, they pictured a tall, dark, handsome man; many women's' dream. He was her dream, and her man.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" She scolded, even though they both knew that he hadn't really frightened her. She was a kunoichi, after all, maybe not one of the best, but she still knew what she was doing.

"I'll do whatever I damn please." He growled, a grin playing across his thin lips, which were buried in her neck, and hidden in her long blonde hair.

"And it's from Sakura." She explained. The smell of smoke passed under her nose, and she frowned. "YOU!" She scowled, saying the last part with extra emphasis. "Have GOT to quit smoking these." She scolded, pulling the ever present cigarette from between his lips. "I can't have you dying on me, now can I?" She asked, placing the cigarette between her own lips.

"You are a hypocrite Yamanaka." He said, shaking his head.

"Uh-uh. I can quit anytime, unlike YOU." She said. As if she was trying to prove her statement, she took a puff, and then threw the cancer stick to the ground and smushed it with her sandaled foot. With a smirk, she grabbed him by the collar and pulled him to her.

She loved taunting him.

He could feel her breath against his lips as she whispered a faint, "Heh, I love you..."

"Hey!" A voice interrupted their interaction, and they both turned simultaneously to see a jounin walking hurriedly towards them. "I'm glad I caught you before you two got started, Asuma, you're to report to Anko as soon as possible." He said, the thin needle in his mouth bouncing up and down with his every word. "She needs to speak with you, alone."

The said man sighed, and pecked the blonde kunoichi on the cheek and mumbled, "This won't take too long."

"Okay, you know where I'll be. Hurry."

She watched as the two men darted out of sight towards the main tent, and then frowned to herself. She hated that bitch Anko. She wanted Asuma, and she wasn't trying to hide it.

Ino had been at the border for almost four months now, and as soon as the new groups arrived, herself, Asuma, and Shino would begin to make their way back to Konoha.

She walked back to her tent silently, pondering her thoughts until she was safely inside. Then, taking a seat on her forest green sleeping bag, she opened up the envelope and unfolded the letter with care. As expected, it was not lengthy, only a few sentences. Sakura had never been one to write long letters.

_-Dear Ino-_

_I'm so sorry it took so long for me to write back, I've been kinda busy. I was suprised to hear about you and Asuma-sensei. I think you two would make a great couple, although the age difference might make it a bit difficult, but I think if you really love each other as you say, you can work past it. Although, I'm in no position to give love advice. Everything is fine in Konoha, everything is pretty much the same. Oh! I've just decided to take some brush up training from Kakashi-sensei. Sasuke is going to be in the next group arriving there, so you should see him before you leave. Tsunade has told me that you're most likely going to stay another week or two. I'll admit that I'm disappointed, but I can't really do anything about it. Tsunade has also told me that I'm going to be coming down in the group after this one, the one in the winter. _

_Miss you-_

_Sakura_

Ino's brow furrowed slightly in confusion.

_Stay down here? What does she mean by that?_

She'd had enough of the border. These border assignments could either be seen as a curse, or a blessing. To some, it was a gift, a chance to get away from the daily life in Konoha, or to get away from their not-so-perfect lives. They could escape their problems, and escape reality for a while. To others, it was a curse, tearing them away from their families for four, long months.

AND it was so boring.

She recalled a conversation she had had with a foreigner she'd been escorting to someplace or other. He'd tried to explain to her the concept of jury duty, that peole had to do in his home country. He'd said it was similar to it because everyone had to do it, there were only few exceptions. She'd agreed, still not understanding what this "jury duty" was.

After another invasion of Konoha with the combined forces of the Sound, Rock, and Mist countries, Tsunade had decided that she would send shin obi in intervals for four months, or longer if they so desired, to the border. New groups came every two months, and the oldest group would return home. There were many camps along the border, and each part of the Hidden Leaf went to a different camp.

"Ino?" A sweet voice floated through the nylon material of the tent, as she watched the zipper being un-zipped from the outside.

"What did Anko want?" She asked, frowning as Asuma zipped the flap back up.

"Don't worry about her. She's harmless."

She gave him a look, and raised her eyebrow.

"OKAY. Maybe not harmless, but I don't want her." He said, grabbing her hand, and pulling her onto his lap. He wrapped his big arms around her, and she felt secure. "Well, they want me to stay behind for a week so I can help instruct the new group." He sighed unhappily, automatically lighting a cigarette.

"Don't smoke in here, it's too hot." She scolded, taking it away and putting it out in the half full ashtray that sat on a box beside their sleeping bag, which served as a sort of night stand. "If you're staying, I'm staying." She said, relaxing, and leaning back into his chest.

"Are you sure?" He asked, unsure, and feeling a bit guilty for asking her to endure another week in this place.

"Of course I'm sure, I'm not leaving you here alone." She grinned, tunring herself around on his lap, and unzipping his vest. 'And you can't make me go home alone, it wouldn't feel right.'

"Okay, if you say so." He said with a slight smirk as his hands crawled beneath her shirt.


	5. Chapter 5

"I didn't realize that I'd lost so much stamina..." Sakura said between breathes as she panted, sprawled out on the ground. Her arms reached above her head, as if she was reaching for the tree that stood ten feet behind her. "I mean... I didn't have much before, but now..." The problem was simple to figure out. She hadn't been using her tai-jutsu, or any ninja skills at all lately, and her body had gotten used to no exercise.

"Don't worry." Kakashi smirked beneath his mask, "by the time I'm through with you, you'll have a lot more stamina." Taking a seat beside her on the dewy grass, he smiled at her beneath his mask. "You're still no weak kunoichi."

They had just finished with a one-on-one training session. It was similar to the "Bell Mission" that her three teammates had had to pass as genin. Except she actually had to get it from him, herself. The main point of it all was for him to see what she was still capable of.

"Other than the stamina, you're basically at the same level you were at the last time I fought you, and that's not half bad. Actually, seeing as you've been out of training so long. that's a really good thing, something you should be thankful for. You're accuracy is still dead on the mark, you've still got that damned superstrength, and you're chakra control is, of course, better than it used to be.

Sakura laughed softly to herself as she recalled how close she'd come to getting him with her strength, and how comical it had looked as he had dodged.

Still breathing heavily, she laid down shikamaru-style, and looked up into the many clouds of white that littered the bright blue sky. It was alredy autumn, and the brightly covered leaves, torn from their branches by the theivery of the breeze, were fluttering across her vision constantly. She closed her eyes contentedly as the autumn breeze caused tendrils of her brightly colored hair to brush across her face.

"Hmm... and then he said..." Sakura glanced over to her sensei sitting beside her, reading his usual reading material. She grinned evily to herself as she leaned over and snatched the book out of his hands. It suprised her that he did not stop her, for she knew that he'd seen her going for it.

"What is this about anyway?" She asked, beginning to flip through it, seeing a few brightly colored pictures among the many paragraphs. "Is there even a plotline?"

"Yes." he said, snatching the book back from her clutches. "It's just too complicated for your young, inexperienced mind to comprehend." He insissted, shoving the book back into a pouch on his uniform.

"Inexperienced?" She asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically, "Fine. Then why don't you explain it to me then?" She smirked inwardly at his discomfort, while on her face there was only a look of pure, inocent curiosity.

"...No."

"Aww come on... You're my sensei, you should teach me about things like this..." She continued, trying to provoke him.

Kakashi furrowed yhis eyebrows, seeing what she was doing. "Okay, come here and I'll explain it to you." He sighed in mock surrender, beconing her to come back over to his side.

"...What?" Her jaw dropped, exposing her perfect teeth.

"It's about this g-..."

"No! Wait! Okay! Okay... nevermind..." She panicked. "You thik you're so funny..." She said, shivering. "I've got to go..." She said standing, as she ran her fingers through her hair, trying to remove the leaves and such from between her locks. "I got to do some shopping..."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She slowly stepped into a small shop off of Konoha's Main Street. To her surprise, as she stepped up the stairs, she was met by Inuzuka Kiba.

"Hey Sakura." He said, waving. "What are you doing here? Did you get a dog?" He asked, obviously suprised to see her in a pet shop because, as far as he knew, she didn't have one. Sasuke didn't seem like the kind of guy to have a dog anyway.

"Uh... a cat actually."

"Oh... well, good luck with _that." _He said walking off.

It was then that she realized that he was part of a _dog_ clan. She could also faintly remember him expressing an extreme hate of felines when they were younger, and a stray had wondered into the school yard.

She made her way inside, and the smell of pet food reached her nostrils. Blech. Shuffling to the isle marked "Cat Supplies", she stopped infront of a bag of cat food. As her eyes dropped to the price, they almost popped out of their sockets at what she saw.

There had to be a mistake...

"Excuse me, sir?" She asked a passing employee. "Is that price correct?"

"Yes ma'am."

She was so thankful that Sasuke had accidentally left some money in a pair of his pants, for she didn't want to waist so much of her own savings on a bag of cat food. She grabbed the bag, and went to inspect how much all of her other needed supplies were.

Expensive.

She pulled out a few bills and counted out the proper payment , and handed it to the cashier.

She could tell already, this was going to be a long day.

* * *

Another revision. I'm trying my best to get these typed out, I hope you enjoy them!

Let me know!


	6. Chapter 6

"Dang it! Come here! Why! You little..." Sakura screamed as tried to grab the darting cat. She was way too tired to deal with this today. The said feline was currently way too far out of her reach, which in turn, caused her to fall flat on her face.

So far, all she had managed to do was set the cat in the water, only to have it dart back out at her, claws extended. The stupid cat only got her wet though, but not damp, wet. Her clothes were soaked, including her WHITE shirt. And her hair...

"Oh com oh ohhhn!" She pleaded. If she hadn't gotten so atatched to the damned thing, she would have thrown it back outside. But, as it was, she'd been chasing it around the house for a good, long, half an hour.

She was soaking wet, tired, and pissed. Not a good combination.

There was a knock on the door. Without thinking, only thankful for a momentary escape, she stepped over to the door and yanked it open.

"What the hell happened to you?"

"Long story, do you need something?" She sighed. "I'm kinda busy right now..." She said, running her fingers through her hair frustratedly.

"You left your jacket" Kakashi explained, holding up the black jacket for her to see.

"Thanks Kaka-sensei.. I'm sorry... I didn't mean to be rude it's just...oh, come on in!" She said apologetically, stepping aside to let him enter.

As he stepped throuh the doorway into the Uchiha home, Kakahi's eye grew wide at the sight of destruction before him. There was water all over the hard wood floors, and things were strewn across the floor, as if there had been a struggle of some sort.

"You see... there's a cat in here some where... I was trying to give it a bath."

"It was dirty!" She said defensively. "Want to help?"

Kakashi took a seat on her large sofa and sighed, "Not really, dogs are more my thing... Cats don't seem to like me very much..." He said as the kitten jumped onto his lap.

Sakura grinned.

"... I have to know, don't I?"

"Yup. It seems to like you..."

"Yeah, for now..." He said, standing and carrying the cat as he stepped into the bathroom, it's head buryed in his arm to prevent it from seeing any of it's surroundings.

"Wow... She murmured as he sat down on the edge of the bathtub. "I thought you didn't have any experience with cats?"

"Well, some small dogs don't like water... And it doesn't take a genius to figure it out. Now shut the door."

XXXXXXXX

After a brief struggle, they finally managed to clean the angry kitten.

"Hah..." Sakura laughed, surveying the kittens fur.

"What?"

"I thought it was grey." She sdaid. Now the kitten had sleek white fur, and it was hiding in the corner, snuggled into a towel.

"Wow... I thought you were smarter than that."

"Hey!" She yelled, using a tiny bit of her chakra she had built up to push him over the edge and into the water.

"What the-" He sputtered through his mask, then rtealizing what had just happened, he grabbed her by the waist and yanked her into the water on top of him.

"Ahh! Let go! It's cold!" She screamed, grabbing desperately for the edge with her free hand, for he had the other one.

"I'm more in the water than you are..." He said, letting her wrist free.

"I... cant get up." She said defeatedly after a few failed attempts. A bit of a blush tinged her cheeks as she noticed their close proximity, and the fact that their faces were only a few inches apart.

Kakashi must hae noticed this too for he placed his hands on her hips and lifted her out. Then he stood also and stepped out onto the floor.

"Oh! You're soaked! Here..." She said, handing him a towel, "I'll go get you something of Sasuke's to put on, and then I'll throw your clothes in the dryer." She offered, or more like ordered, feeling a bit guilty.

"Somehow, I don't think they'll fit..."

"What do you mean?"

"Well... he's..." Kakashi trailed off thinking of the right word. He didn't have a very wide vocabulary, that's why he hardly ever spoke.

"Short? Yeah, I know, but he's got somethings that don't fit him.." She said as she stepped out of the bathroom. Seconds later she returned holding a dark colored shirt and a pair of pants. "Here." She said, shoving the bundle of cloth into his hands, "I grabbed one with a high neck so that it will cover your face." She said, shutting the door behind herself, completely ignoring his "Sakura..."

In her own room, she slipped out of her wet clothing and to her horror, she realized that she forgot to grab towel to dry off her skin and hair. Then, she wrapped a robe tightly around herself, and walked over to the door. "Hey! Kaka-sensei? Are you decent?"

"... Yeah." came his response through the door, and then the door opened to reveal her sensei standing there, "What do you need?"

Her jaw dropped.

"I-I-I forgot to g-grab a towel." She stuttered as her cheeks turned a bright pink. She slid past him, and grabbed a towel. She diverted her eyes out of respect as she shut the door behind her. "Thanks.."

He ran a hand through his hair as a smile appeared on his thin, exposed lips.

* * *

Bwahahahahaha! Another revision!

She saw his face. -Nods-

I wish I could...

R&R!


	7. Chapter 7

The blonde kunoichi slid out of her tent stealthily, for two reasons.

One.

So she wouldn't wake up Asuma, who was currently sleeping inside of her tent.

Two.

So the Uchiha she was following would not hear her as she trailed him into the forest.

Actually, it was suprising that he hadn't detected her presance yet. He was a far better shinobi than she, so the current situation suprised her.

Suddenly, he came to a stop on a high branch, where the moon shown through the branches. In the pale moonlight, she could make out his facial features clearly as he looked to his left. There was no question as to the reason she had swooned over him in her younger days. His was still as handsome as ever. The thing that struck her most was the crimson glint to his eyes.

Sharingan.

The heavens must have been on her side, for he did not see her, and seconds later he was darting through the trees again.

And then he stopped again.

Her eyes widened as a tall figure approached him, a dark robe with crimson clouds on it trailing after him. "Little brother, Why have you come? Are you looking for a fight?"

"No... I... " His words were spoken too softly, and this was all she could make out. "...Wife... coming.

"Why? Can't you do it yourself?" The tall man asked cruelly.

"I would get caught." Sasuke said louder. "This is all I ask."

"She's been slowing down your progress, so as you wish."

Ino's heart pounded. They had to be talking about Sakura. What was going on? Whatever it was, it was going to happen whenever her friend came to the border.

And then, her eyes looked back to the pair, and she saw the tall man, obviously Itachi, looking directly at her. His crimson eyes were gazing directly into her own, and Ino caught her breath catching in her throat.

And then, in a blink of an eye he was gone.

XXXXXXXXX

As she unzipped the flap to her tent, she was suprised to see that Asuma was sitting up, smoking one of his cigarrettes.

"Where were you?" He asked, he had obviously been worried.

"A walk." She said, collapsing onto the sleeping bag beside him.

"Ino. If you were walking, you wouldn't be breathing heavy."

"I ran a little bit."

"Ino..."

"Fine." So as they sat there, Ino spilled her guts about what she'd seen. Then, after a lot of debating, she told heim about what had been going on in the Uchiha home lately too.

"Hmm..."

Silence.

"Well, I think that it would be wise to tell Sakura to be on her guard when she comes out here, but I don't think you should tell her why. I'm going to speak with Tsunade about getting Kakashi to be one of the people on her team, and let her know that Itachi is... or was in the area." Asuma explained with a tired sigh.

"Isn't Itachi his brother?" Ino asked, her mind was in total confusion.

Asuma nodded.

"Well, doesn't he like... want to kill him?"

Asuma nodded again.

"Well, then why are they working together?"

"I don't know. The only way you can see into the mind of a rat, is if you are one."

"You're definately not a rat..." She said, climbing onto his lap. She wanted, no she needed to be in his arms. She couldn't imagine how she could have chased after Sasuke so long, without realizing he was so... "Do you think they're going to get away with whatever they're planning?"

"Not if Kakashi has anything to say about it. He wouldn't let anything happen to her, he adores her." He said, hugging her tightly. He knew how close Ino and Sakura were, they were like sisters. If anything happened to Sakura, it would also hurt Ino, and then there would be hell to pay.

"Like you adore me?" She asked, nuzzling into the curve of his neck. She could remember the day that her friend had married Sasuke clearly. She could remember detecting a sort of... sad aura around the older man. She'd only shrugged it off as him feeling old. But the way Asuma had said that...


	8. Chapter 8

Revision ALERT

* * *

"Sakura!" Kakashi yelled harshly, sounding as if his patience was wearing low, as he pressed the dull side of a kunai into the smooth skin of the kunoichi's neck.

"Sorry..." She mumbled ashamedly.

"You're distracted... A shinobi, or kunoichi," he added, " must never let anything on their minds surface as they are in battle." He sighed, letting her free. "Let's quit for today..."

"Okay." She mumbled thankfully. "Hey, do you know what time it is?" She asked.

"It's time for us to quit." He responded sarcastically.

"Argh! I should have known..." She sighed, glaring at him. "Where is that pocketwatch I gave you for Christmas?"

Kakashi shrugged.

"That's what I thought." She growled. She'd bought that pocketwatch for him last Christmas, because he was always so late. It was a nice one too. "They're supposed to be here around noon." Sakura sighed impatiently.

"Well, it looks like it's around twelve fourty-five..." Kakashi mumbled, looking into the sun.

"I don't trust your sense of time." Sakura snorted, crossed her arms, and started to walk towards town. Then, she stopped and without even turning around, she said, "Well, are you coming or not?"

"Drinks?"

"Only if you don't get as drunk as last time."

"I was not drunk." Kakashi said.

"You were too." She grinned, but maintained keeping her voice serious sounding.

"Okay, maybe a little but you were hammered." Kakashi said, laughing a bit under his mask.

"It was my birthday!" Sakura stomped her foot indignantly as she turned around, her pink tresses swirling around as she turned. It had been the first year she could drink, she'd had a right.

They walked in silence, until they could see the familiar pub.

And then it happened.

There was the sound of high pitched, feminine screams, and then the two kunoichi were running towards each other, hugging and crying.

"Why didn't you go get a seat?" Kakashi asked his friend as he came up to his side.

"Well, I thought I'd like to watch this." Asuma said. If he had said 'Ino asked me to wait.' Then it would have given away their secret. He had every intention of telling him, just in his own way. If his suspisions were correct, then Kakashi wouldn't mind. Besides, he had to put it in a way that Kakashi would not think about it much, for there was a possibility that it would influence the shinobi to act on his feelings, if there were any, towards _his_ younger student.

"OMIGOSH! I MISSED YOU SOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!"

"ME TOO!"

As the two women wept and such, Asuma decided on a plan, and acted on it while they were still out of ear-shot.

"Hey Kakashi, Ino and I are..."

"An item? Yes, I've noticed." Kakashi finished his friend's sentance with a smirk.

"How? Forget it, I'm not even going to ask. Basically, my point is, I have a favor to ask."

"Well, there is a long story behind this, but I was hoping that you'd agree to going to the border with Sakura. Ino's really worried about her going down there... Tsunade's already said it was okay, if you agreed."

"Why?"

"Well... she overhe-" He stopped abruptly as the two women began coming towards them. "I'll explain later."

"C'mon! Let's get a seat while we still can!" Ino ordered, roughly pulling Sakura inside.

XXXXXX

After they were finally situated at a table towards the back of the room, Ino soon realized that she could speak freely, because everyone knew her little secret. Ino had always had a big mouth, and it was harder for her to not let anything slip because of this.

So Ino was relieved to be able to lean into Asuma, without them giving her strange looks.

"So, did anything else exciting happen at the border, other than you two?" Sakura asked, obviously overjoyed that her best friend was finally home.

Ino and Asuma exchanged looks.

"Nothing else really..." Ino lied, her cheeks shading a bit pink. "It's actually pretty boring...Nothing ever happens... Except every once in a while, we'll catch someone trying to sneak over the border. But really... it's bo-ring."

Sakura nodded, taking a drink of sake as she did so.

"Sakura? Come to the bathroom with me?"

Sakura eyed her questioningly. Ino wasn't the kind of person who asked those kinds of questions. Then, seeing a look that she'd never seen before in her friend's indigo eyes, she stood.

"Ummm... Okay."

As soon as she was standing, Ino grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the small bathroom. Ino was refusing to meet her eyes.

And that... was what freaked Sakura out the most. Ino was the kid of person that when she spoke to you, she demanded your attention, and held eye contact as long as possible.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked, as panic rose in her chest.

_Something is going on_, she decided as her friend surveyed the stalls to make sure that they were, indeed, alone. Then as she walked over to the door, she locked it and looked directly at Sakura.

"You can't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you." Ino said in a deadly serious tone.

"What's wrong?" Sakura repeated, seriously beginning to worry. Well, at least she'd established eye contact...

"No one knows, not even Asuma."

"Ino, if you don't tell me right now I'll-"

"Sakura, nothings wrong..." Ino said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "It's a good thing... I think."

"Then how come you're stalling so much?"

"I'm pregnant."

* * *

Yay! One more chapter till all new ones are to be written! Yay! 

Read and Review!


	9. Chapter 9

Ino and Asuma left early, undoubtably tired from the trip home.

So that left Sakura with Kakashi. As happy as she'd been for her best friend, she couldn't help the jealousy that seemed to creep into her thoughts. For the moment, downing drinks would quench her jealousy as much as it did her thirst.

"Hey Kaka-sensei..." She began, "Why don't you go sing kareoke? I'd pay to see that..." She said, a drunken smile plastered across her face.

"I don't see that happening anytime soon, but I'll let you know if I ever decide to." He said, shaking his ead as a laugh escaped him. "But I wouldn't hope on it."

"I'll do it with you..." She urged, drunkenly happy.

"As tempting as that sounds... no."

"No fun, no fun at all." She said, shaking her head. "Although," She paused, downing the warm liquid that burned the back of her throat, " I've got to admit, you've gotten much more talkative lately." She said, still grinning widely at him.

"Really?"

"Yeah!" She said, taking another drink. "You haven't noticed?" She surveyyed him for a moment, and then said, "I think you're drunk Kaka-sensei."

"Hm? That's interesting... I was just thinking the same thing about you... " He said, pretending to think intensely about the matter.

"Naw... I've only had like... three?" She said, pointing to her glass.

"You're lying. I watched you, you've had at least seven."

"Hmmm? I think you might be right...I am feeling a bit... tired." She said, stumbling to her feet.

"Come on." He said, sighing as she stumbled over her feet. He grabbed her just as her head was about to collide with the table. "I'll walk you home."

"I'll find my own way home! I know it's hard for you to fathom, but I AM a grown woman now." She said, teasingly.

"I know that. Just let me walk you home." He said, sliding his arm around her shoulders. As this attempt failed, he merely picked her up and carried her outside bridal-style."Dammit Sakura, remind me never to go drinking with you again."

"FINE. Jeeze Kakashi, you're acting like this is your last dying wish or something..." She said, leaving off the formality without thinking twice. A smile appeaed on her lips as she watched his hair bounce in the wind. "You know, your hair is really... flippin awesome." She said, laughing at her own childish words.

He ignored her instead concentrating on his movements. He moved at a steady jog, not wanting to fall, for he'd had a bit more to drink than he usually did. The silence was eerily disturbing.

"Kaka-sensei...?" Sakura whispered suddenly, so softly that he almost did not hear her. He glanced down at her, signaling for her to continue. "I'm... I'm sorry..."

"For what?" He asked, taken by suprise by her statement.

"Because..." She said, her gaze shifting to the right, towards the deep green vest that all jounins wore. "No matter how hard I try, I always end up asking for help."

"Sakura...?" He trailed off, at a loss at what to say.

"You don't have to say anything, I won't remember anyway..." She said, returning her gaze towards his face with a smile.

The silence encompassed them once again, the awkwardness of it all apparent to both parties. As they reached her front porch a minute or so later, Kakashi looked to her questioningly. She looked at him for a moment blankly, not realizing what he wanted. Then it clicked and she blushingly reached her hand down her shirt, digging a silver key out of her busom. Kakashi took it skeptically, giving her an odd look as he noticed the warmth the key was radiating.

"Sorry, didn't want to carry a purse..." She said, still blushing as the lock clicked. He stepped in slowly, noticing that the havok that had previously occupied the room was now gone. After a few guesses, Sakura was no help in the least bit, he finally stepped into the right room.

As he set her onto the down comforter, he glanced at her yet again. He felt horrible for making her feel guilty. She hadn't done anything wrong. Besides, he enjoyed helping out his former pupil, she was an interesting person to be around.

"Sakura? You're not a burden to me..." He said, trying his best to put his feelings into words. He'd never been good at it, and never would be.

"It doesn't matter. It was just... a drunken rant."

He sighed and took a seat on the edge of her bed. "No. I know from prior experience that in most shinobi cases, we say what has been on our minds when we're drunk off of our asses, as you are now."

"Kakashi..." She said, sitting up.

"I enjoy the time we spend together, and I consider you a friend." He said bluntly. He was on a roll, and had to say it while he still felt he could.

His one visible inky eye widened as she flung her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug. "Thanks... that really means a lot, coming from you..." She closed her eyes as she enjoyed the intoxicating scent of his cologne. She relunctantly let go and lay back down as she realized that she'd been too close for too long. "You know, I was always in awe of you in my younger years. You were like a steadfast, you'd never change. But I've realized that you have, a lot."

"Oh?" He said, suprised at her conclusion. "How so?"

"Well, you're not as... you don't seem as unreachable as you used to..." She said, eyeing him curiously. "Well, if that even makes sense."

"Reallly?" He said, intrigued.

"Yeah." She whispered softly, her eyelids becoming heavier by the second. As Kakashi noticed her thick lashed brushiing against her cheeks, he stood.

"I'd better go. Good ni-" He stopped as she inturrupted him.

"Oh, don't go." She said, pulling him back down by his wrist. "Let's talk some more."

At the touch of her delicate fingertips on his wrist, he followed the pull of her hand. "Fine. What about?"

"Um? What do you think about Asuma and Ino?" She said, bringing up the subject that had been eating at her all night.

"It's great. He needed to stop pining over Kurenai anyway."

"No. I mean the age difference?" She said, restating her question.

"What about it?"

"Well..." She said after a pause. "Do you think it will work?"

"Yeah... I do. Why? Are you worried about them?"

"NO!" she said, clearly offended by the accusation. "I know it will work, I was just curious to your opinion."

"Well." He began, pausing to think out his words. "Why should age difference interfere? In the life of a ninja, you have to take chances so you can live your life to it's fullest. You never know what day will be your last."

The comfortable air between them seemed to transition into tenseness as quick as a flash of lightning. After a few seconds of silence, Kakashi stood and nodded to her. "I really had better go, I'm getting tired, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Wait!" She yelled, sitting up abruptly.

It was too late. The clouds of smoke from his dissapearance were already clearing before she could force words from her mouth.

She muttered a 'damn' as she sullenly lay back down.

* * *

Bwahahahahaha! Revisions are now done! Now... On with the story. 

YAY! Celibrates by throwing many many many cookies out to reviewers.

YAY!

-Trishy


	10. Chapter 10

Yay! On with the story. So yeah. If you haven't read the revisions, I suggest it. It's MUCH better now, at least in my opinion. I think I might have changed a few things too.

The next day was uneventful, as were the next few weeks. Sakura remembered nothing, and Kakashi decided that he sure as hell wasn't going to remind her. They found themselves spending more and more time together, even on the days they did not train. Most days, they just went out to the pub to get drinks.

Over the duration, many people were ignorantly amused to see Asuma doing the shopping for Yamanaka Ino. It was now common news that the two were a couple, but no one knew of the child. The people that did know however, were even more amused when they were told about his reaction. Apparently, he had fainted at the news.

The time for the next group of shinobi to leave for the border approached quickly. Sakura recieved news that she would be leaving, and with her would be Hatake Kakashi, and Rock Lee. Sakura was devastated. Not about her team members, she was perfectly fine with that. She just didn't want to be at the border while _he_ was there.

Soon the day to leave was upon them.

"Just our luck." Sakura growled disgruntledly as she kicked at the snow on the ground. "That we'd be assigned to the January mission."

" I think we should leave now." Lee pointed out, staring at her, and then Kakashi in turn to see if they agreed. They had stopped to rest and eat in a small clearing they had found. They'd been there for about an hour already.

Both nodded, and Kakashi went to go stuff some items into his things. Sakura was in a good mood, despite her complaining, and found herself plotting. She knelt down slowly into the snow and scooped some up into her hands.

"Sakura-chan... I don't think you shou-" He let his words trail off as he watched the reactin of the older jounin as a snowball collided with the back of his head. He turned slowly to see her on the ground again.

"Sakura..." Kakashi said slowy. "Stop acting like a four year o-" He didn't bother to finish his sentance as he dodged another snowball.

"Come on! Fight back!" Sakura yelled, angry that he wasn't participating in her little game.

Kakashi shook his head. "I'm not the kind of person who does these kinds of things." Seconds later, he was bombarded with twenty snowballs, each hitting him, suprisingly enough.

"Your trainings going well." Kakashi said into Sakura's ear. Without a single warning, he reached a hand around her shoulders and shoved a snowball down the front of her shirt.

Lee watched in awe as the two continuously pummeled eachother with mounds of snow. If he didn't know better, he'd say that they were flirting. But he knew Sakura was married, so he decided that it was only a close friendship between the teacher and pupil, like Gai-sensei and himself.

He jumped as the icy mounds began heading his way. Sakura was lethally throwing them towards him. Of course, he dodged every one.

Sakura scowled at him as moments later she discovered that she'd ruined the last of the salavagable snow in the area. Sighing, she grabbed her bag and said, "Well, I guess we'd better go anyway." The rest of the company nodded in agreement, while somewhat bewildered at her quick change of moods.

"You know..." Kakashi began as they began to pace themselves as they darted through the trees, "If Sasuke says or does anything, I'll be there too." Sakura turned to lookat him, not surprised at all at the assumption that he'd made. They had gotten to know each other too well over the past months, there was no need to try to lie.

XXX

They reached the border just before nightfall. The sun was already beginning to hide behing the horizon when Anko finally came to greet them. The short kunoichi only bothered to smile pleasantly at Sakura before she returned her gaze to the clipboard she held in her hands. Stepping across the grass light-footedly, she showed them to their assigned tents.

Mitarashi Anko was considered the 'head operative' at this particular section of the border headquarters. Because she had no attachments back in Konoha that many of the other shinobi did, she preferred to remain at the station, devoting her time into the establishment.

Almost right away, Lee was directed to a tent close to the front-most row of tents. It took a bit longer for them to arrive at the next tent. Although there were few shinobi assigned to the border, a suprizingly large number of shinobi chose to stay. As they passed ten rows of three not-so-widely-spread-apart tents, Anko came to a stop. She smirked as she informed them that their tents were directly beside one another. Walking away she yelled over her shoulder, "Oh, there's an alcohol establishment if you follow the path directly east." She smirked darkly now. There was no need to tell Hatake, who was known for being extremely fond of sake, that only certain shinobi were allowed alcohol each night, and only at night. With one last wave, she was gone.

Kakashi's exposed eye arched in a tell-tale sign that he was grinning. "Fancy coming with?" He asked light-heartedly.

Sakura was dazed, lost in her own thoughts and did not hear the words directed towards her. Her heart was sinking faster than a weight in water. The tent was twice the size of a normal tent. So that meant that she was sharing it with someone, most likely her good for nothing husband. She helplessly looked to Kakashi, a mixture of fear and anger swirling in her sparkling emerald eyes. "Did you say something?"

"Kakashi furrowed his eyebrows. "Sakura, surely you knew that they would put you in the same tent as him?" His question did not need an answer though, he only needed to see her reaction to know the answer. "C'mon, put your things inside and we'll go get some sake and relax."

Sakura obeyed, appearing outside the tent once again seconds later. She silenntly followed him along the path, absent mindedly watching his wild mane of silvery hair bounce as he took each step. She was captivated by the way the moon made it glow. "Kakashi...?" She began, at a loss for words. Groping her mind, she finally chose the right ones and they spilled from her lips. "What am I going to do?"

Kakashi awkwardly patted her back as she buried her head into his chest, embracing him. No matter how many times, or how much of a habit she tended to make it, everytime she hugged him it made hime nervous as all hell. "Don't worry about it, there's no sense in dwelling over it. Besides, you have so many new defenses. What about that jutsu you invented, the one where the person goes unconcious?"

She sniffed into his shoulder. "I guess your right... Oh, I made such a horrible mistake marrying him." She croaked into his shoulder. Her crying was soon stifled suddenly. There was total silence before she gasped over the Copy-Nin's shoulder, "Sasuke...?"

* * *

Ok, now I will try to update ASAP. But seriously, read the revisions if you haven't.

Well, much love to you all, but it's about 4:00 AM and I need to upload this.

Reviews make me happy. So very happy.

Will you make me a happy chikkie?


	11. Chapter 11

"You're here. Let's go back to the tent, it's late." He said in his usual cold manner, roughly grabbing herby the wrist. Sakura's heart dropped, and all of her built up anger seemed to intensify with that one small gesture. About to act on her feelings, she was taken by suprise and stopped dead in her tracks as she heard Kakashi's deep voice interrupt.

"Actually Sasuke, we were going to have a drink." Kakashi said, his voice having a rather intimidating authorized sound to it. He placed his hand on Sakura's shoulder and said a bit louder, "We were just hoping to relax, you know we just arrived not that long ago."

Sasuke's ebony ink eyes darted from Sakura, and then to Kakashi's face. A smirk played in the corners of his lips as he turned away. "Humph. Fine." He said nonchalantly, letting his wife's hand free. He walked away slowly, and turned back to scowl at her before he disappeared out of sight.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief as Kakashi guided her inside with a hand on her lower back. She felt the last of her adrenaline rush fade away as she entered the building. The first thing Sakura noticed was that the building was rather small. Although it was dimly lit, Sakura could see the wafts of cigarette smoke drifting through the air. The smell of alcohol and cigarettes was almost strangling. There was a large bar lining the back of the room. Many tables and chairs stood all over the room, along with the many shinobi occupying them. The sight of Anko, Genma, and Kurenai sitting together at a rather large table brought a smile to her face. Old bonds always stayed strong.

"Kakashi, Sakura." They muttered in unison, bowing their heads politely in acknowledgment. Sakura took a seat between Kakashi and Genma. She felt a bit of a loss at the change in her old friend Genma. She hadn't seen him since before she'd been married. He, of course, used to flirt with her relentlessly as he was known to do. Now, he apparently knew of her marriage and was uncharacteristically polite.

Anko smiled at her, for they had become friends in the past. Although Anko was rude and frightening to everyone else, she was always kind and friendly to Sakura. She liked Anko. The kunoichi was a talented woman, and she'd grown accustomed to her odd ways. Anko's weirdness was what made Anko herself. Anko had gotten into a life-threatening situation during a mission a few years back and Sakura had helped her get out of the mess.

Kurenai smiled friend-like also. Sakura hadn't really spoken much with Kurenai over the years. She felt a bit awkward because her best friend had been the one who'd stolen Asuma from her.

She conversed quietly with them, and was surpassed when they all stood to leave in what seemed like minutes later.

XXXXX

"Shit." She cursed softly to herself as she approached her large, double-sized tent.

"Goodnight Sakura. If you need anything, just call. I'll be listening for you, okay?" Kakashi said, attempting to comfort her. It did the opposite actually. To hear him speak in such an uncharacteristically caring tone frightened her even more.

"Night."

She stepped slowly into her tent, and was greeted by the sight of Sasuke sitting on his sleeping bag, obviously waiting for her. She walked past him and to her own. She silently changed into a pair of pajamas; sweatpants and a T-shirt, feeling his eyes on her the whole time. She suddenly had the urge to go brush her teeth, so she stepped past him again only to be stopped. Sasuke stood before her, and grabbed her wrist. He pulled her to him and she felt his lips skim softly over hers. Her heart leapt. It reminded her of the times when he kissed her because he loved her, not because of pure carnal desire.

"No Sasuke."

He ignored her and tried to raise her top. She held it in place, and he scowled at her. "I said no Sasuke." She tried to step back, but he held her tight. Her breathing was rapidly paced. Whether it was from the fact that she was frightened, or because his kiss reminded her of the old days, it was still noticed by Sasuke.

"What's different now than it was a few months ago?" He asked, scowling at her refusal.

"It just is. I don't want this. Why won't you give me a divorce?" She said, her voice becoming more high-pitched by the moment.

"Why should I? So you can marry someone else? No one wants you anyway." He said loudly, almost yelling. Any thought of him still loving her diminished as the sentence left his mouth.

"Apparently you do."

"... It's someone else..." He said, smirking. "You've found someone else..." He said cruelly. "It's Kakashi, isn't it?"

"No." She squeaked.

"Yeah it is. You make me sick. He's an elite Sakura! He wouldn't want you, and he's older than you." He paused. "He's old enough to be your father."

"That doesn't matter anymore."

"You're too weak to be with an elite. You don't deser-" He stopped, his eyes wide. He fell to her feet, slumped on the ground, asleep.

She scowled, kicked him to the side, and turned away. "Didn't think I could do that, did you?" Her heart hammered in her chest. She crawled into the safety of her sleeping bag, and tried to sleep, but it was impossible with him in the same tent as her. She stood, and grabbed her jacket.

* * *

Wow. It really gets to me how short these chapters turn out. Sorry about that.

Please review!


	12. Chapter 12

The cold night breeze brushed softly against her pale cheeks, causing her to shiver slightly. Her emerald eyes scanned the path to her right, the one that led to the bar. For some reason, they flitted off to the side, towards her sensei's tent. Then, her plans changed. Somehow, she wasn't as suprised as ahe though she should have been to see him sitting at the opening, looking up at her. She didn't know if it was because her emotions were running on high at that moment, but she made up her mind to resolve the situation between her and Kakashi right then and there.

"See," He muttered as she came near, "I knew you could handle him." He shut the orange book that was open in his lap, and turned his full attention to her. He watched as she took a seat beside him, undoubtably thinking of the situation she'd found herself in seconds ago. He knew full well how her notorious jutsu worked. First, she would gather chakra in her fingertips, and then, when she found the necessary point, she would inject it quickly into the bloodstream. After the momental shock of someone else's chakra mixing with their blood, they would fall into a state of unconsiousness. He turned to see her looking at him, nonchalant as she could possibly force her demeanor to be. Wordlessly, he pulled her into his embrace, just as a flood of tears began to spill from her eyes. Maybe she wasn't going to do any resolving that night...

"Y-y-you heard, didn't you?" She asked between her muffled sobs. After feeling him nod, she pulled away, and looked to her other side, hiding her face. After a few snuffles, she added, "Everything?" She cursed inwardly. She'd let her weakness show. Even as she wiped the tears away, her voice had still cracked. But she shouldn't have had to mask her weakness. This was Kakashi, her sensei! But as much as she hated to admit it, she just couldn't think of him as her sensei, he was so much more.

He'd been about to ask if Sasuke's words had been true, but as she muttered that last question, there was no need. That single word had confirmed it, it had shown a wealth of emotion, even though she'd tried to conceal it. In a flash, he had her in his arms again. It was foreign for him to be so close to any other human being, (not counting his few frivoulous flings) but as of late, it felt like abnormally natural just to pull her close. "C'mon, we need to talk." He said into the top of her hair. He lead her inside.

She stood before him silently, her heart pumping loudly in her chest. It had been smart to come inside, if anyone saw them talking so late at night, the accusations would start flying like birds. She forced the blush that had been lingering on her cheeks to return to a lighter shade.

Just as the flap fell to cover the opening, she surrendured and fell into his arms. In mere seconds her jacket had been thrown out of reach, along with his mask. Their lips crashed together, all of the pent up emotion they'd been hiding merged together between them. Suddenly, much to her displeasure, he pulled away.

"You're married." He finally blurted out. He looked her in the eye for a moment, and then ran a hand through his silvery locks. Finally letting out a sigh, he added, "What are we going to do?"

She eyed him for a second, her breath caught in her throat. Finally, she managed to whisper, "Damn it!" She glared at him for a second, and he returned it with a questioning gaze. All of the anger she'd previously harbored for Sasuke returned three times over. She answered his unspoken question by adding, "Even when he's not around he manages to ruin my life!"

Kakashi shook his head and stepped toward her. "Not ruin your life. We just need to put this on hold for a while." He looked at her for a moment, and was relieved to find that she smiled in return. She wrapped his arms around his neck. The effect was immediate. He had fallen back into her claws. Their lips met again, and remained connected until Kakashi pulled away. "All right, only kissing."

She leaned back to see his face better. "Who said anything about anything else?" A small smirk graced her features as he, _The copy-ninja_, actually fumbled for his words. She waited a few seconds, enjoying the rare sight. She shifted a hand to the back of his head, mixed in his silvery mane, and guided it closer to her own. Making sure that her lips were only centimeters from his, she whispered "Kidding." It had been a bit too serious in the room for her taste, so this was the easiest way to lighten it.

They shared another kiss, and their fates were sealed. There was no resisting the attraction between them.

XXXXXXX

Opening her green eyes, she lazily let her gaze slide to her left. A small smile quirked her lips at the sight. Kakashi was sleeping, and her hair was spead all across his face. She sat up slowly, trying to adjust her eyesight to the still dim morning light. She slowly slid her right foot off the cot, as silently as possible. With her toes, she managed to pick up her T-shirt from the floor. Just as it fell comfortably over her shoulders, she felt an arm snake around her waist. She laughed softly as she fell ontop of him.

"Is it morning?" He croaked.

"Yes. It's three, and I have to go." She said, smiling down at him. She relented to his hold, and fell completely onto his bare chest. She kissed him once, and then was on her feet. Grabbing her jacket, she stepped to the opening, and smiled a good bye.

"Breakfast?"

"Sure." And with that single word, she darted out the door and into her own tent. She scowled to see Sasuke in the same exact spot as she'd left him in. Sighing, she grabbed some clothes, a hairbrush, and a towel, and headed off to the shower house. When she returned, she was still debating on wheather or not she should wake her sleeping husband. Finally, she stepped over to him, and shook his shoulder.

"Morning. I'm gonna go. Bye."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

She shuffled her way towards where they served breakfast. It was a large building, where there were tables set out in rows. Oddly enough, it reminded her of a school cafeteria. She shuffled over to where the food was served, and took her food to a small, empty table. Soon, she was joined by Kakashi, who sat across from her.

She shivered, it was like she was back at the academy. She smiled at him, and then shoved an apple into her mouth.As she chewed, she could have sworn she heard a laugh from Kakashi, but when she looked to him, she was concentrating on his food. She shrugged it off as a cough, but when he did it again, she quickly looked to him, but he was looking beyond her. She turned to see Sasuke sitting with a group of women surrounding him.

She looked back at him, and smirked. "Maybe he'll want to mary one of them." She was satisfied to hear him laugh at her small joke. She sighed, and shoved more food into her mouth.

"So, did you sleep okay last night?" She looked up to him questioningly. As she took notice of the small arch to his eye, she sighed. She resolved her agitation by hrowing her apple core at him. He only picked it up, put it with the rest of his trash, took hers, and stood to throw it away. When he returned, he glanced at her, and then took out his infamous book.

"You're just trying to get to me this morning, aren't you?" She growled, stealing the book away from him. To her supris, he allowed her to take it. With a satisfied smirk, she closed it, and shoved it into her shurinken pouch. She squirmed as heinstead began to stare at her. She had a feeling that he wasn't really seeing what was in front of him. "I'm suprised that Tsunade hasn't decided to make me play 'doctor' here. I'm actually pretty glad though."

"That reminds me... Do you want to get in a little training today?" After she nodded, he stood. After waiting several seconds, he added, "Are you coming?"

She looked up at him, suprised. "What? Now?"

"Yes, now. I was planning on stopping by my tent first, and then we can head out to the fields." She eyed him suspisiously, and then followed him outside. After they were a safe distance from all signs of life, he wrapped his arm around her, and pulled her to his side as he walked. She giggled, and allowed him the sign of affection, for she never would have guessed it from him. When they finally arrived at his tent, she let out a squeal as he took her off guard and threw her onto his cot.

"What are you doing? We can't not now!"

"What're you talking about, I was only getting my gear, what were you expecting?" He laughed out loud as she blushed. He sat down next to her on the cot. "Gotcha back."

---------------

Ah! The fluffiness. This chapterwas basically pointless, except for the fact tha they finally got together, and the explaining of the jutsu. Well, I am happy. This chapters longer, and I got to write some luff. Yay. Let me know what you think!


	13. Chapter 13

Sakura found herself yawning as she laid back on her cot, in her own tent. She scowled as her _husband_ stepped through the entryway of the tent. He took a seat on his own cot, and began rummaging through his bag. After finding a few spare kunai, his gaze returned to her. She sighed. "Can't you go train or something?" That was the only thing there was to do here. Well ... that, drinking, or becoming precoccupied by your 'significant other.'

"Well, it's been a while."

A satified smirk passed over her features. It was true. She hadn't been back in her own tent for more than a few minutes for the past two months. Well, not two months, almost two months. If it had been two months, Sasuke would be back at their home in Konoha. When he continued to stare at her, she glared back, and asked rather loudly, "What!"

"Why?"

"Well." She paused so she could word it ight. "My usual company is busy at the moment, so I'm waiting here." She smirked as he scowled at her.

"You've only slept in here once the past two months."

"Yes, well. After that little... stunt you pulled the first night, I found a more... comfortable place to sleep." It may have looked like she was being a sadistic bitch, but that was only because he deserved to be treated that way. She didn't care anymore. If he found out, maybe he'd finally have to give her the divorce.

"Slut." He spat, glaring at her.

"No. I stay with one man. You, you have a different woman in here every night. So let's think before we speak Sasuke, who's the slut?" It was true too. Stupid asshole. Poor women.

"Sakura, I'm leaving tomorrow." He sighed. Why did he have to resort to this? The truth was, those women were nothing compared to her. "I miss you. I miss us..." He watched as she looked at him in shock, but he could tell she was soaking it up. He walked over, and sat beside her on her cot. "What happened to us?"

"You." She said,sitting up beside him. Why had he changed all of a sudden? He was acting just like the old Sasuke..

"I'm... Sorry Sakura." It pained him to say those words. "I still... love you." That was even worse. He moved in for a kiss to hide the disgust written across his face.

Her heart fluttered as he kissed her. He always had been a good kisser. Was tyhe old Sasuke back? Her heart fluttered, and then, reality flashed before her eyes. She bit his tongue as hard as she could without biting through, and pushed him away.

"I can't believe you!" She stood as she spoke, her voice similar to how banshees were portayed in the movies. "Is that how it's been all along!" She scowled as he only glared at her. "Is that all our entire marriage was! And ACT!"

He sttod, angry that she'd figured it out. Anger cut through his veins, and he snarled, "Not our marriage. Just the courtship."

She preceded to call him every foul word ever spoken, all the while screeching. He'd made a fool out of her. She'd make him pay for it though. She charged at him. She didn't care if he killed her, she had to at least attempt to get in a major hit.

He scowled, and ducked her attack. As soon as she passed him, he turned, and just as he was about to make hit that would undoubtably break her neck, to strong hands grasped his wrists. He watched as Mitarashi Anko took hold of Sakura, who was already about to inflict pain on Sasuke while he was apprehended.

"Kakashi, I want you take him out of here. Have a nice long talk with him, do what you need to do." Kakashi nodded, and looked to Sakura, and back to her. "Don't worry, I'm taking care of her. Oh, and onyour way out, could youinform the rest of the attendance at our meeting that the rest of the meeting is adjourned?" Kakashi nodded, and with one last look to Sakura, he exited the tent, along with an angry Sasuke. Anko looked down to Sakura, and asked cautiously, "Are you okay now?"

"No, but I'm not going to do anything about it right now."

Anko let her free. "What happened?"

"We hate each other, end of story." Sakura growled, anger stil seeping through her veins.

"We heard everything. We were in Kakashi'ds tent, having a meeting with a few others." She explained, sitting beside her on her cot.

"I already knew about that." Silence. Anko knew that this was Sakura's way of telling her about what was going on between her and Kakahi.

"Yes, I know." She'd just so happened to have seen one of her unique shirts poking it's wayout from beneath Kakashi's cot. She didn't mind it, as long as no one knew about it. She considered Sakura a friend.

"Thank you. I'm sorry for causing so much trouble for you, I'm sure it's difficult to control all of these shinobi without my problems getting in the way." Sakura sighed. "Is it horrible that I still want to puch a hole through his face?"

Anko smirked. They thought alike. "Listen, first off, your problems aren't anything compared to what I've been through, so I have some patience for you. Second, no, I don't think that's horrible. I think it's kind of funny actually, and I don't blame you." She smiled, and laid a hand on her shoulder, "However, I think Kakahi's taking care of that for you. Now, I advise you to take your things, all of them, and bring them into Hatake's tent until tomorrow." She sighed. If Tsunade ever heard her give an order like this to her prized possesion, she'd be murdered on the spot. "I want you to stay inside until at least four in the afternoon tomorrow, When Sasuke leaves."

Sakura smiled. "I think I can manage that..."

Anko stood. "Hurry. It shouldn't take him to long to... talk to him." She opened the lap to the entrance, and turned back to add something. "Oh, and if you tell anyone that I ordered that, I will deny it. I don't care if you did save my life..."

XXXXXXXXX

Kakashi stepped into his tent, anger still flowing through him. He felt his heart break as Sakura immediately crashed into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, and kissed the top of head through his mask. "Are you okay?" He asked into her hair. He felt her nod, and then she took a step back.

"I'm okay. I just feel incredibly stupid." She paused, sighed, and ran a hand through her bangs, brushing them back. "Anyway. Anko says for me to stay here." He nodded, and took a seat on the floor of the tent. She followed suit, and she just sat and watched as he removed both his mask, and his headband. He laid back, and closed his eyes. She smiled. Just seeing him put her in a better mood. She crawled over to him, and laid on his chest. He groaned as her weight pushed into his chest. He opened his eyes to see her face above his, her hand planted in the palm of her hand. "So... How'd your meeting go?"

He closed his eyes, and spoke in a monotone. "Better food. Assigned night watch duty. Nothing good." He sighed again. He'd worn himself out. Sasuke was indeed much stronger than he'd been all those years ago. It was for the best anyways, or he might have murdered him. Instead, he just gave him a few bruises, and a black eye.

She shifted her weight, androlled onto her back beside him. "When's your guard duty?"

"Next Monday." He sighed. Guard duty was the most boring job he could be assigned to. It consisted of staying up all night, and watching for signs of human activity

"When's mine?" She asked, not willing to put off the undenyable.

"Next Tuesday."

"Great."

He rolled over, and hovered over her. "It'll be fine. I'll come sit with you after everyone goes to sleep."

She grinned, and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down for a kiss. "Oh, did I mention... I'm confined to your tent until at _least_ four tomorrow afternoon..."

"Hm."

"Oh, I don't know what I'm going to do. I guess I could paint my nails, but that wouldn't take that long..."

He smirked "I'm sure we can find something to do." He kissed her and stood, picking her up. He set her on his cot, and crawled in beside her.

"Oooh! Do you mean I get to paint your nails!" She giggled at her own joke as his arms snaked around her waist.

"I don't mean to disappoint you Sakura, but you may have gotten away with that with Sasuke, but that will _never _happen with me. His eyes drifted closed, and he could have sworn he heard a quiet, 'We'll see about that.'

He groaned, and opened his eyes. She grinned evilly and kissed him. "You're tired, we can play tomorrow." He nodded and closed his eyes.

He had a sneaking suspision that he would wake up with nail polish on his fingers in the morning...

Ok. My attempt at a funny.

Ha aha ah ha. Not really that funny. -- Oh well. Reviews Anyone?


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